Following his decision to remove tariffs on Scotch in July, President Donald Trump has now announced that he will remove a 10% tariff on Irish whiskey.

During a trip to Ireland, Trump said that he would remove the tariff following a meeting with Irish prime minister Micheál Martin, also known as the country’s Taoiseach.

Trump, who travelled to the country for a 48-hour visit, made the announcement to a crowd of Irish golf fans, citing Irish golfer Shane Lowry as a reason why he changed his mind.

To the crowd, Trump said: “Taoiseach and I talked about it and Shane talked about it and everybody has been bugging me, saying ‘Would you do me a favour? It’s so unfair what’s going on. Could you possibly take the tariffs off of Irish whiskey?'”

He continued: “And I said on behalf of the United States of America, I am going to take the tariffs off Irish whiskey.”

Impact

Presently Irish whiskey’s largest export market, the Irish Whiskey Association (IWA) commented that it was pleased with the news.

IWA director, Eoin Ó Catháin, commented: “Nothing exemplifies the US-Ireland trade relationship better than Irish Whiskey.”

Elsewhere, Irish whiskey sales also thrive in the EU, with sales up by 21% over the last four years, according to the IWA in August.

At the time, the Association said that this growth was spurred on by consistently strong performances in traditional markets like Germany and Poland.

Additionally, exports to Greece and Italy rose by 88% and 68%, respectively, over the same time period. Likewise, exports to Bulgaria jumped by 54%.

The UK also remains an important market for Irish whiskey, presently sitting as its fifth-largest export market.

Compared to the EU, however, sales in the UK have dipped slightly, according to Drinks Ireland. Reflecting on 2025, the insight company commented that whiskey exports to the UK were lower than in 2024.